Monday, August 09, 2010

25 new things about me

1. I have witnessed the laboring of two women in the last four months and helped with the actual birth of one's child.2. I am no more baby-crazy than I have been my entire life; the people closest to me are just beginning to have babies that I feel I have a right to obsess over.3. I remember being angry with the old lady who babysat for a whole group of us kids while our moms had a Bible study upstairs. I was only 3 or 4 years old but I was indignant that she wouldn't let me hold the babies.4. I have been married just shy of a year.5. Dude, this marriage shit is hard.6. And I have a lot of fun.7. And I'm not lonely anymore.8. And I like having the opportunity to care for my husband and to do things simply because they will make him happy.9. And that scritchy-scratchy feeling of wariness from a constant expectation that life could jack-knife and go shooting off in any direction while leaving me behind has also significantly decreased.10. However, I am fully aware that this new-found sense of stability is merely illusion; the easiest way to make God laugh is still to tell her your plans.11. I believe in a God who wants the best for me; my explanation for why bad things happen to good people is that we live in a broken world (for some reason) and so consequences of that brokenness hurt folks, often when they didn't break a thing in the first place. It's not a satisfying theology but I'm learning to live in the mystery.12. After I met my husband, his Judaism taught me the phrase tikkun olam, which is a concept that God wants all of us to participate in mending the broken world. This is part of why I need Jacob and his faith: to give me words for what my Christianity has neglected.13. I have somewhat traditional beliefs about God and Christ. You know, the Trinity, the co-existent divinity and humanity of Christ, death and resurrection, and the persistence of the Holy Spirit.14. I do not need anyone else on the planet to believe the same things that I do.15. I think that beliefs are a direct result of experiences. Therefore, everyone's beliefs are slightly different.16. So, my Christianity gets expressed by gathering with other people who all start from different places but who are all heading in the same direction - toward God - rather than being expressed by clustering with people who are exactly like me.17. I make quilts.18. I recently knit a sweater for the first time even though I have been knitting hats for years.19. I used to live on an island in the Pacific Northwest.20. I have a job that perfectly melds my profession passions and skill sets: I build capacity within an organization that is just beginning to succeed at effecting policy change at a systemic level regarding how American society views vulnerable children by challenging Christian to live into their faith and care for a child in their homes for a little while so the parents can get their feet back under them.21. I am very close to my family.22. I struggle a lot with treating other people well. I just can't seem to get the hang of seeing things from others' perspective. This sucks for everyone involved, myself included.23. I fear that if most people had to describe me with three words, the first two would be "abrasive" and "intimidating."24. That fear probably explains a lot to anyone who is trying to figure me out.25. I laugh a lot over the course of a day.

3 comments:

Re: #12, you should totally read Jill Jacobs' There Shall be No Needy if you haven't yet. It is her argument for the centrality of social justice in Jewish practice and law, and it is AMAZING, and she gives an interesting history of the phrase "tikkun olam" in it. I think you'd like it a lot.

About Me

The opinions expressed on this blog are not representative of the opinions of the organization that employs me. Additionally, it should be noted that my intent in writing this blog is to tell the stories of my personal experience so that other people can have a sense that they are not alone out there if they have similar experiences. If my stories upset you in any way, I hope you will feel safe enough to email me directly so that we can work through a loving reconciliation.